Blast Strikes Syrian Oil Pipeline in East, Jazeera Reports

An explosion struck a Syrian oil
pipeline in al-Quriye in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, Al
Jazeera television reported, citing unidentified activists. It
didn’t give further details.

Crude spilled in the area today after the explosion,
according to the opposition Shaam News Facebook page, which
blamed the explosion on government forces.

The blast was the latest of at least seven attacks this
year that have targeted pipelines and refineries in Syria, which
has been engulfed by a wave of unrest since March last year.
State-run media blamed the attacks on “terrorist groups.”

The Syrian government’s violent suppression of protests has
led the U.S. and European Union to impose additional sanctions
against President Bashar al-Assad’s administration. Some
restrictions target the country’s oil and gas industries.

Syrian (OLPDSYRI) crude production has declined as economic sanctions
curb its ability to sell the commodity, Oil Minister Sufian Alao
said on Dec. 24. The country was pumping about 260,000 barrels a
day, he said. Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA), Total SA and other European
companies have ceased operations in the country because of the
sanctions, Alao said.

The national electricity grid has lost about 2,600
megawatts because of difficulty in transporting fuel to power
stations after attacks on energy infrastructure by “terrorist
group,” the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported, citing
Electricity Minister Imad Khamis.

The Paris-based International Energy Agency estimated in
its February monthly oil market report that Syria produced about
280,000 barrels a day in January, down from a daily average of
330,000 barrels in 2011 and 390,000 barrels in 2010.